OT: thinking of switching to Direct TV for NFL Sunday Ticket (comments appreciated)

[mgcolby]

After seeing their new ads with Manning I'd drop Direct TV if I had it.

Manning has been doing the advertising for ST for the last several years, his dad was in on it as well.

 

[mtbykr]

100% true. I've had DirecTV since 1998 and they use to have cable beat. No more. They do nickel and dime you to death. New subscribers can't even own their receiver anymore, DTV leases it to you monthly. Yet another way to bleed 5 more bucks from subscribers monthly.

Other than Sunday Ticket, Dish Network smokes DirecTV.

Where did you come up with this? I have had DTV for years with no problems. I recently got the DVR upgrade and they installed it and gave it to me for almost nothing (9 months ago now). I have no fee for leasing equipment and neither do any of my friends or people who i have referred!

 

[mtbykr]

ya

I have the basic package with local channels and NFL Sunday Ticket, plus a DVR:
- Heavy rainfall can knock out your signal, usually for only a few minutes, but you may get spotting on the screen for longer periods. I'm in lake effect snow country, no worries let it snow.
- If you get local channels off a roof antenna in the Boston area, you can watch the Pats' game and record GB and Hotlanta on the DVR - however, if you want to record the Pats you'll need to run the TV antenna through a VCR.
- I've been very satisfied with DirecTV compared to cable experience in the past. Not that much more expensive and comparable outage times. My folks have Dish and Dad hates it.
- If the dish on your condo allows DirecTV to hook you up you may save some money - don't count on it, package start-up deals should work out okay for you though - just be prepared to cancel what you don't want before they hit you for the full charge!
- My chapped backside comes when the Pats are blacked out on DirecTV for a national broadcast and they have the 4:15 start with the 1:00 game in extra innings, you lose quite a bit of the first quarter. If you paid for Sunday Ticket, you should get Sunday Ticket, none of this local blackout crap. - DVR settings, never leave it on the standard 3 hour setting for a game, always extend it 30 minutes. With instant replay the games last longer than three hours, regularly. I forgot to change the settings on the Pittsburgh game last year before going on the road, I was lucky to catch the end of the game on a friends TV, when I got home the recording had stopped with four minutes left in the game.

That's my only complaint! Really sucks when you miss the 1st quarter---but it usually only happens once a year!

 

[mtbykr]

ok

I have had DTV for the last 3 years now with zero complaints. It's far better than cable or dish in my opinion. I don't think they nickel and dime you to death, although i don't have 5 tv's! I have had it go out on me mabey 5 times in the past 3 years due to weather. These were all times where i couldn't see my wife's car 20ft from the house becuase it was raining so hard! Everyone I have turned onto DTV has thanked me and still has it---everyone has their own taste, but for me DTV is the best out there! Plus I can see all the sox and pats game even though I am in Virginia!:rocker:

 

[mgcolby]

Re: ya

That's my only complaint! Really sucks when you miss the 1st quarter---but it usually only happens once a year!

They stopped that last year as well if I remember correctly. That is the main reason for the blackout restrictions being lifted. But I thought towards the end of last year they showed the entire first quarter of every 4:00 game to avoid the missed first quarter.

 

[DCPatriot]

Most of the ground is covered above, except the technology rollouts that affect priicing and equipment. If you are serious about receiving top quality HD reception and cannot receive over-the-air local channel HD transmission of Pats games, bear in mind that almost all DirecTV equipment on the market today is quickly becoming obsolete. While this is always going in any technology and cannot be avoided, DirectV is in the process of changing to a different compression format (from MPEG2 to MPEG4) which will double their capacity per channel. This won't orphan equipment you may buy today, but the depreciation rate will be steep.

See this discussion for more info on equipment, pricing and trends.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=68063

For my part, I subscribe to DirecTV for NFL Sunday Ticket and no other reason. I think the current exclusive contract with the NFL will be the last one, so I plan my DirecTV equipment purchases based solely on the length of this contract. Verizon just rolled out fiber optic broadband in my neighborhood, which is the future.

 

[mgcolby]

Verizon just rolled out fiber optic broadband in my neighborhood, which is the future.

Where do you live, MD, DC,VA? I live in Stafford, VA and they haven't installed it yet, I am just curious how far away folks have it. I heard parts of MD and Falls Church, VA have it.

 

[Michigan Dave]

Where did you come up with this? I have had DTV for years with no problems. I recently got the DVR upgrade and they installed it and gave it to me for almost nothing (9 months ago now). I have no fee for leasing equipment and neither do any of my friends or people who i have referred!

Yeah, I'm confused. I don't pay a leasing fee for the equipment, and you can buy a receiver at Best Buy if you so choose. You pay $5 extra for a second receiver, but I think that's better than going out and buying another one. But you do have that choice.

 

[PatsFan4eva]

go HD!!!!!!!

 

[ilduce06410]

Patriots Viewing Area

Godef: If you live in the local Pats viewing area, Sunday Ticket will not show any of your Pats games due to black-out policy. Also, the local reporters are never broadcast on Sunday Ticket. They have national media meatheads, many of whom really like the Colts. Not many of whom really care about the Pats.

i live in southern connecticut, 2 towns north of new haven. dish network is ok, its base fee is less, but added all up my bill is no lower than cable.
i lose signal 2-3 times a year, usually for short periods. not in snowstorms, but in blizzards. not in the rain, but in major thunderstorms.
i got dish network because they were cheaper than Direct, dish was carrying redsox, and cox cable here refused to carry it. for about 3 years i had nesn and my neighbors didn't. they were still writing hate mail to cox cable.
it's the met-jet-net-yankee-giants viewing area down here. i miss one patriot game a year. it's a predictable tv market thing, when pats are playing an nfc team at home, at 4, and the giants are also at 4 and.... but all the local bars have our boys anyway. it. i usually get 2 patriot preseason games on middle-of-the-night TiVo.
hail, i don't really see well enuf anymore for HD to make a difference for me. i can see a difference. the pifcture does seem to have depth. but i won't be running to get it.

 

[mgcolby]

Yeah, I'm confused. I don't pay a leasing fee for the equipment, and you can buy a receiver at Best Buy if you so choose. You pay $5 extra for a second receiver, but I think that's better than going out and buying another one. But you do have that choice.

No you still have to buy or lease any additional receiver, the $5 fee is a monthly fee that keeps the additional receivers active.

 

[friggs]

I live in Florida. My DirecTV usually doesn't go out even during tropical storms. Sure, you'll lose it now and then but it's only for a couple minutes at a time. When I had cable it went out a lot more because of cars knocking down poles.

 

[fgssand]

1. I have had DirecTV for only 1 season and already don't know how I ever lived without it.

2. I have had DirecTV for 18 months and lost service only once for an extended period of time (meaning more than 5 minutes) and that was during a very bad thunderstorm.

3. As others pointed out, HD Sunday Tickets costs extra. But most important of all (and the thing that pissed me off the most)...

4. If high definition is important to you, you should be aware that you can not and will not be able to watch locally broadcast games in high definition on DirecTV. DirecTV doesn't have local stations (or NESN) in HD. I don't know where you live, but if you live in the Boston area that means you can't ever watch the Patriots in HD (unless they are on ESPN). You can't watch whatever game of the week is on Fox in HD. It also means you can't watch the playoffs in HD and yes you can't watch the Super bowl in HD (unless you do what I did and get Comcast Cable in addition to DirecTV Sunday Ticket).

That is excatly what I did...BOTH Comcast & DTV, kind of the best of both worlds and I have DVR's for both. That means I can tape 4 shows and watch two , all at the same time.......not that there are enough hours in the dy to do all that.

DTV Sunday ticket is awesome and anyone that is a football fan and can afford, should get that package without a doubt.

 

[DCPatriot]

Update: this string made me research what is going on in DirecTV land and there are some devlopments that are relevant to anyone (existing customer or prospective new customer) who plans on subscribing for NFL Sunday Ticket this season. There is an offer (as yet unpublicized) to provide the new generation HDTV receiver DVR (the H20) and satellite dish (A9), which receives local channel HD signals without the need for an over-the-air antenna, with installation, for free if you purchase Sunday Ticket. I don't know exactly how this works if you're a new customer, but as an existing "preferred" customer I just spoke to DirecTV's customer retention group and they agreed to swap out my dish and old tivo (non-HD) for the H20 and A9 for a $20 shipping and handling cost. This is key, since DirecTV is migrating to a new compression format (MPEG 4) for HDTV and the existing DirecTV HDTV receivers cannot decode this format This means the HDTV service offerings from DirecTV will be phased out over the next year or so and the new offerings (which are really starting to take off, including local HD channels, NESN-HD and many local Fox Sports networks) will be available only in MPEG4 compression format. So....make sure you get the new equipment if you are signing up for the first time, and existing customers should consider whether they want to swap up using the approach I just described.

 

[fgssand]

Update: this string made me research what is going on in DirecTV land and there are some devlopments that are relevant to anyone (existing customer or prospective new customer) who plans on subscribing for NFL Sunday Ticket this season. There is an offer (as yet unpublicized) to provide the new generation HDTV receiver DVR (the H20) and satellite dish (A9), which receives local channel HD signals without the need for an over-the-air antenna, with installation, for free if you purchase Sunday Ticket. I don't know exactly how this works if you're a new customer, but as an existing "preferred" customer I just spoke to DirecTV's customer retention group and they agreed to swap out my dish and old tivo (non-HD) for the H20 and A9 for a $20 shipping and handling cost. This is key, since DirecTV is migrating to a new compression format (MPEG 4) for HDTV and the existing DirecTV HDTV receivers cannot decode this format This means the HDTV service offerings from DirecTV will be phased out over the next year or so and the new offerings (which are really starting to take off, including local HD channels, NESN-HD and many local Fox Sports networks) will be available only in MPEG4 compression format. So....make sure you get the new equipment if you are signing up for the first time, and existing customers should consider whether they want to swap up using the approach I just described.

DC you ROCK :rocker:

Did the $20 include free installation??

Thanks for the info - can anyone verify or know if any other upgrades or suggestions??

 

[GoPats]

Re: OT: thinking of switching to Direct TV for NFL Sunday Ticket (comments appreciate

Update: this string made me research what is going on in DirecTV land and there are some devlopments that are relevant to anyone (existing customer or prospective new customer) who plans on subscribing for NFL Sunday Ticket this season. There is an offer (as yet unpublicized) to provide the new generation HDTV receiver DVR (the H20) and satellite dish (A9), which receives local channel HD signals without the need for an over-the-air antenna, with installation, for free if you purchase Sunday Ticket. I don't know exactly how this works if you're a new customer, but as an existing "preferred" customer I just spoke to DirecTV's customer retention group and they agreed to swap out my dish and old tivo (non-HD) for the H20 and A9 for a $20 shipping and handling cost. This is key, since DirecTV is migrating to a new compression format (MPEG 4) for HDTV and the existing DirecTV HDTV receivers cannot decode this format This means the HDTV service offerings from DirecTV will be phased out over the next year or so and the new offerings (which are really starting to take off, including local HD channels, NESN-HD and many local Fox Sports networks) will be available only in MPEG4 compression format. So....make sure you get the new equipment if you are signing up for the first time, and existing customers should consider whether they want to swap up using the approach I just described.

I am a current DirecTV HD subscriber. When are they planning on adding NESN HD?

 

[PatsFanInEaglesLand]

Re: OT: thinking of switching to Direct TV for NFL Sunday Ticket (comments appreciate

I am a current DirecTV HD subscriber. When are they planning on adding NESN HD?

Was supposed to be July 1st, but it didn't happen, but it is being discussed here.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=70047

 

[DCPatriot]

Re: OT: thinking of switching to Direct TV for NFL Sunday Ticket (comments appreciate

Basic installation is included (that is, no high roof work, etc). Forgot to mention you need to sign up for two years, which is a no-brainer for me since the main reason to have DirecTV is the NFL Sunday Ticket, and that will be exclusive to DirecTV for some time. NESN and the regional Fox HD channels will be added. It's just a matter of time, as DirecTV uses sports HD to add new subscribers (like us). But these are always subject to local black-out rules and will not necessarily be available to everyone around the country. See the discussion thread posted earlier.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=70047

 

[denverpatsfan]

DC,

Thanks for the scoop. Are you a current HD subscriber? Or would be signing up for the HD service for the 1st time. That offer would be just the thing for me to switch to the HD format. Does the $20 include installation or do I just swap in the new receiver and bolt up the new dish?

 

[denverpatsfan]

Went ahead and called to see if I could get this deal too. After being on hold for sometime and talking to three people that weren't very helpful they finally connected me to customer retention. I had asked the first two people to connect me but for whatever reason they didn't.

$20 S&H for the HD receiver dish and installation. The DVR receivers that support the HD MPEG4 format are not available yet.

With this upgrade offer I would extend my DTV contract for 2-years. There is also a $9.99/month HD fee. You can always cancel the HD service and just go with the std format.

Sports programing in HD is limited to the local RSN offerings and whatever is on nationally on ESPN, ABC etc. If there is a national big game that is carried on several RSN's it may be provided in HD on channel 95. Doesn't look like I could get NESN in HD.

Of course there is the $99 charge for HD on the NFL ticket.

DLP HD sets are the best value right now. The person I spoke with bought a RCA 50" DLP HD set for $1,300. Can't beat that with a stick.

Seriously considering going this route since the equipment & install are only $20.